Change Takes Time

There’s something to be said for the amount of change that can be undergone in just a handful of weeks. While it may not be overly apparent to you, the person making such changes, it can show to the friends and family around you who see you somewhat infrequently.

Just today, for example, I met up with a buddy for lunch. We see each other roughly once a month or every other month. So, seeing one another somewhat regularly allows him to still know me in the same capacity he knows me while also being able to observe physical differences that I might not see. Anyway, he noted that I look like I’ve lost weight and I asked how he could tell. He said it was in my eyes, something I’ve never been told before. But I’m sure the puffiness around one’s eyes may denote weight gain or weight loss, and so I took it as a neutral comment that he was just meaning to observe on.

It made me think of other changes that have taken place in my life in the past few months. I thought back on my dental habits of old, the times when I would brush just once a day and never floss. To think back on days where my gums would bleed at least once daily makes me cringe, especially because now my gums never hardly bleed at all. It doesn’t matter how rough I get with them, they hold up well and don’t bleed at even the slightest irritation. Only when I floss incorrectly or forcefully do they give way.

It’s just amazing overall to see change happen in front of my eyes. My friend noticed the change of me losing weight whereas I notice it in the health of my gumline and teeth. Either way, I’m on the right track to a better and healthier me, and I couldn’t be happier or more confident going forward in my ways.

Running has almost certainly changed the health outlook of my cardiovascular health, too, so even though I may not notice the immediate impacts its had on that sort of health, I’ve seen what it can do for the rest of me.

All in all, it’s just a waiting game. I think people get too impatient looking for results, so they expect to see weight loss or improved teeth in a matter of days, and that’s simply not how our bodies and lives work. Only with the right diet and physical exercise (and health routine!) do we move forward and see physical change. It just takes time.